1. Lost - Season three started with Jack, Sawyer, and Kate being held hostage by the “Others”, and ended with Charlie dead, and Locke and Ben (on the same side) believing that the castaways have made a mistake by radioing for help. The season truly was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish: there were love triangles- Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Jack, Kate, Juliet; death- Colleen (“Other”), Eko, Pickett (Other), Nikki, Paulo, Naomi, and Charlie; and as always, lots of questions. What really killed Eko and what is a smoke monster? Has Locke gone crazy and whose side is he really on? Who is Jacob? What is it with the “Others” and pregnant women? Did Penny get Charlie’s message and will she and Desmond be reunited? Why isn’t Mikhail dead? Why didn’t Jack kill Ben when he had the chance? Flash-forwards are introduced for the first time and Jack looks terrible, yet Kate looks luminous. Whose funeral does Jack ask Kate to go to? Who does Kate have to get home to? So many questions, so little time- I cannot wait to have some of them answered. (Wed. on ABC)
2.Friday Night Lights - I already wrote about this show and called it “fantastic”. What more can I say? Friday Night Lights is one of the best written drama series ever, it is a critic’s darling, and has one of the best ensemble casts currently on television. I think viewers are enamored by Friday Night Lights simply because it’s real; the show brings today’s issues to the table and shows us just how people deal with those issues. It’s a show that makes us jump up and cheer during the good times and cry in defeat in the bad times, and although we sometimes cry; we still want to watch. (Fri. at 9 on NBC)
3. Ugly Betty - ABC.com says the premise of Ugly Betty is “an ordinary girl from Queens tries to fit into the world of high fashion”. However, Betty Suarez is anything but ordinary, she is extraordinary and America Ferrera and the rest of the cast make up the best dramedy cast on television. Ugly Betty is much like a telenovela, the storylines are serialized centering Betty as she attempts to balance her social, family, and work life. Her social life lacks big time- she has broken up with her boyfriend Walter who cheated on her with neighborhood hussy Gina Gambarro. Betty kind of likes accountant Henry Grubstick but complications stand in the way of a relationship. Her family life consists of her immigrant father Ignacio, older hairstylist sister Hilda, and nephew turned intern at MODE Justin. Work isn’t always great, thank goodness for her MODE friends- Christina, Henry, and Daniel. Betty has to constantly be on her toes for boss Daniel Meade who often throws her a curve ball, but they appreciate each other’s friendship. Betty also has quite a few enemies, number one being Wilhelmina Slater and her henchman Mark, and receptionist Amanda Tanen who try to embarrass Betty at every chance they receive. The show is smart, witty, and a joy to watch; Ugly Betty is by no means ugly. (Wed. at 8 on ABC)
4. Law & Order SVU - As Detective Benson and Detective Stabler, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni may be the most dynamic duo on TV; they certainly are two of the most highly paid, reportedly making $350,000 per episode. The beginning of every episode begins with the same lines- "In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories." The plots typically revolve around both high profile and real life cases and sometimes famous fictional works. Some of my favorites included- a “he said, she said” rape case involving a divorced husband and wife involved in a child custody battle (Michael Michele and Blair Underwood played the couple), a lawyer is attacked and his wife is murdered but his daughter who was supposedly at the scene of the crime recalls nothing as a result of a drunken night of partying (Emily Van Camp of former WB show “Everwood” plays the daughter), Laura Leighton (of Melrose Place fame) guest starred as a mom who supplied alcohol to her daughter’s friends for parties and slept with those friends as well, and a high school teacher (played by Melissa Joan Hart) is suspected of raping her student with whom she is having a relationship but she claims he raped her. Here’s to Benson and Stabler becoming more seasoned detectives and all of us watching. (Tues. at 10 on NBC)
5. Desperate Housewives - The housewives are back in full force this season, but it wouldn’t have been this good unless the end of season three set it up to be that way. In a previous entry I already talked about what happened at the end of season three, so instead I would prefer to talk about what is going to happen. This season has been centered around new, but not so new, neighbor Catherine Mayfair moving back onto Wisteria Lane. Viewers have since discovered that Catherine is harsh and has a mean streak in her, she slapped her daughter Dylan and ordered her not to see Julie anymore, accused her husband of having a wandering eye, and is keeping a deep dark secret that the other housewives are trying to figure out. Lynette’s cancer is in remission and she has both her parents back in her life (she also discovers that the reason her parents broke up is because her father discovered that he was gay). Susan starts off on the wrong foot with the new gay couple next door (Bob and Lee). Mike confesses to Susan that his father is still alive and in prison, and Susan later discovers that Mike is taking drugs. She orders him to stop for the sake of their family, but discovers there are more hidden in his car prescribed by Orson Hodge. Bree swears Adam to secrecy as he delivers Danielle’s baby boy Benjamin who Bree will raise as her child with Orson. Gabi continues her affair with Carlos while at the same time trying to end her marriage to Victor. Victor threatens to expose Gabi for attempted murder when he regains his memory in the hospital. He remembers that Gabi knocked him over the head while they were on their honeymoon on his yacht in the middle of nowhere. Carlos, who was a stowaway onboard, helped Gabi dump an unconscious and supposedly dead Victor off the yacht. Edie vows revenge on Carlos and Gabi for their affair. A tornado and its aftermath will strike Wisteria Lane and some will wind up dead and others will learn not to take each other for granted. There will be more deaths to follow this season and then hopefully the writer’s strike will be over so we can continue with the best season in two years! (Sun. at 9 on ABC)
6. Brothers & Sisters - Let’s admit it, there is no show on TV that can boast a famous and powerhouse cast like Brothers & Sisters; there is Oscar Winner Sally Field, Golden Globe Winner Calista Flockhart, Emmy and Oscar Nominee Rachel Griffiths, Tony Winner Ron Rifkin, Emmy and Golden Globe Nominee Rob Lowe ,Emmy Winner Patricia Wettig and a bunch of people who despite being in tons of series and films before this are having their breakout roles on this show. For example there is, Dave Annable who was on Reunion, Balthazar Getty who was on Alias, Emily VanCamp who was on Everwood, Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, and Sarah Morris who was on Felicity. The series is about the upper class Walker family and their lives in L.A., sounds glitzy right? No! Their lives are a legitimate mess. Nora’s (Sally Field) husband William, who died in the first episode, had an affair and she is now in search of a new companion, Justin (Dave Annable) is a drug addict and soldier trying to recover (or is he?), Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) is William’s illegitimate child, Sarah’s (Rachel Griffith) marriage is over and she is in a child custody battle, Kitty (Calista Flockhart) is married to a Senator (Rob Lowe) and figuring out life in the spotlight, and Saul (Ron Rifkin) still struggles with his sexuality. Oh the drama! And oh how we love to watch! (Sun. at 10 on ABC)
7. - Gossip Girl - Fergie’s song “Glamorous” is used in the majority of the TV campaigns for Gossip Girl and it is obvious why; the show centers around formal and informal social events taking place in New York’s Upper East Side. Some of the series characters are comfortable and rise to the occasion, whatever it may be, and others struggle to find their way and be accepted by the in-crowd, others don’t care to be a part of the in-crowd. Super-couple Serena and Dan couldn’t be from more different worlds, and supposed friends and definite enemies are trying to tear them apart. Serena’s sometimes best friend Blair doesn’t always want Serena to be happy, Blair’s boyfriend Nate has a thing for Serena and wants her for himself, and resident bad boy Chuck doesn’t like Dan (because Dan punched him out when he was trying to score with Dan’s little sister Jenny) or Serena for that matter (because she isn’t interested in him. Serena’s mom (Lili) would rather than Serena and Dan weren’t together because Lili has a history with Dan’s father Rufus. Dan’s best friend (who now wants to be his girlfriend) Vanessa is back and she wants Dan all to herself. Who knew that so much could center around two people? I for one think Serena and Dan are the perfect couple, let’s hope they end up better off than Romeo and Juliet. (Wed. at 9:00 on the CW)
8. Grey’s Anatomy - I must admit that I started to get bored with Grey’s and I happened to tune in for the season finale last spring and, just like that, I was hooked again. Brief recap that hooked me again: Dr. Burke left Cristina at the altar (I always thought Cristina would leave him being that she was a commitment freak), the Callie, George, Izzie triangle was left unresolved, Meredith and McDreamy’s relationship was also left unresolved (absolutely no surprise there; Meredith is a flake, she cannot help it), George failed his intern exam, and Addison decided to move to L.A. (she got her own series Private Practice). The fourth season has been anything but disappointing- Meredith is still confused, yet everyone still likes her, and the hottest gossip at Seattle Grace is still who’s sleeping with who. Some things never change. (Thurs. at 9 on ABC)
9. ER- In it’s twilight year, ER is like a fine wine; it only gets better with age. County General has been revitalized in the past few years with new and interesting characters. The intelligent writers and producers at the show realized that there was no replacing characters like George Clooney’s, Dr. Doug Ross (and just to mention a few more Dr. Mark Greene [Anthony Edwards], Nurse Carol Hathaway [Julianne Margulies], Dr. Peter Benton [Eriq La Salle], Dr. John Carter [Noah Wyle], Dr. Jeanie Boulet [Gloria Reuben], Dr. Susan Lewis [Sherry Stringfield], and click onto this site to see the best of the rest http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108757/fullcredits#cast ) and so they didn’t- they created brand new characters that their viewers would embrace and love just the same. Just like the viewer routed for Carol and Doug they are routing for Abby (Maura Tierney) and Luka (Goran Visnjic). Dr Gregg Pratt (Mekhi Pfifer) takes chances in the same way that Dr. Ross did, Dr. Neela Rosgotra (Parminder Nagra) is a spitfire the same way Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) was, and Nurse Sam Taggart (Linda Cardellini) is looking for true love and struggling to make ends meet just like Nurse Hathaway. With a winning formula like this viewers wish ER would live forever. (Thurs. at 10 on NBC)
10. Samantha Who? - Emerging as the highest rated new comedy series of the season., Samantha Who, is the newest series on my list. The cast is great, and lead by Emmy Award Winner (for a guest starring role as Rachel’s sister on Friends) Christina Applegate of Married with Children fame; Jennifer Esposito, Barry Watson, and Jean Smart round out the cast. Esposito plays Sam’s best friend Andrea, Watson is her ex boyfriend Todd, and Smart plays Sam’s mom Regina. For all those who have never watched and are now going to start watching, the comedy is about a 30 year old real estate lawyer who develops amnesia after becoming the victim of a hit and run accident. Samantha Newly (Applegate) must rediscover her life, love, and relationships with friends, family, and strangers. By the end of this season, I hope most will no longer be saying what is Samantha Who? (Mon. at 9 on ABC)
No comments:
Post a Comment